Chapter Nineteen
Lainey didn't know what to do with herself. That was a big piece of news. The biggest piece of news ever.
Steve's old friend from the forties, was her father.
But that couldn't be. Her mother never talked about her father. Not even to insult him. It had been just her and Allison for the longest time.
Now he was telling her that he was her father? Was she just supposed to believe him? What if he was lying to her like that other man was?
"I held you in my arms and I named you." Bucky spoke softly, clearly remembering that day. He could see that she had her doubts. "And I loved you the minute I saw you."
"You loved me?" She couldn't stop herself from asking. Something about what he just said and the way he said it, made Lainey want to believe him.
"I loved you…I still love you." Bucky knew that that last bit might have been too much all at once, but it was something he needed to say before he lost the nerve to say it. He missed out on eleven years of 'I love you's', so he should have the right to this one.
But to Lainey, it was just enough. She had been conflicted in her feelings about this whole thing, but those few words, that small sentence, cleared everything up for her and she threw her arms around his neck, much to his surprise.
"You knew me…..from before?" She asked, resting her chin on his shoulder. She really wanted to be able to remember a time where she had been so loved by her biological father.
"From before when? In D.C.?" He asked, willing his voice not to shake. "Yes. I knew."
"And before that, too? When I was a baby?"
"For a little while." He hesitated before placing his right hand on her back. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Steve smiling at him.
Punk.
"What do I call you?"
"Anything you want. Bucky, James, Uncle James…." He shrugged.
It didn't really matter to him. They were just now beginning to get to know each other and he wasn't going to put her in a position to be —
"Not Papa?"
Bucky froze at the question. To think he was the one who thought he was moving fast. This girl had no problem keeping up with him. There was no cause for concern. "Would you like to call me, 'Papa'?"
Lainey was desperate for her father and she hadn't even known it. Maybe some part of her knew and that's why she had latched onto Steve so quickly and so fiercely. She had been looking for that kind of relationship and Steve had a hunch that she was Bucky's, so he had no problems filling that role whenever she needed it.
And even if it had turned out that she wasn't Bucky's, he would've done it anyway. He loved her too much to have her looking somewhere else, maybe even somewhere dangerous, for that kind of affection.
"Uh huh." She nodded, holding onto him for dear life. She was afraid that if she let go, he'd disappear again and she wasn't going to take that chance.
Bucky was on the same boat. He could remember the superiors of the Red Room forcibly taking his baby girl out of his arms while she screamed and cried for him. Her little voice wailing for him haunted a lot of his nightmares. They hadn't thought twice before they gave the order to take his daughter from him.
He was getting too soft. He wouldn't raise his hand or his voice to her while trying to train her. They didn't like that. They wanted him to teach her to be strong, obedient. She didn't have the luxury of being a baby. She was a soldier. An asset.
"Okay." He cupped the back of her head with his flesh hand, gently rocking back and forth. "Okay."
And that's all there was to be said about it.
He was a father once again.
"No!"
"Lainey, you can't come with us." Steve said for the millionth time.
"I'm not going back!" She stomped her foot before, quite literally, throwing herself on the ground.
To Sam and Steve, this was pretty new. They were used to Lainey being a little upset whenever she didn't get her way, but she had never physically thrown a tantrum like this before.
"Alayna."
"Don't even entertain that." Bucky shook his head. Lainey had always been hot-headed with a fiery temper to match. It looked like she never grew out of it. "Don't reward her with your attention."
Lainey heard every word he had said and screamed, beating her fists onto the ground. "No!" When that wasn't even to quell her anger, she kicked her feet, too.
"I've already made the decision. I'm sorry, Buddy, but you're still a kid. You can't decide these things for yourself." Steve didn't know how much more of this he could take. The noise was bothering his ears and his never ending patience was running thin.
"I'm not going to the Raft!" Lainey blurted, slapping the palms of her hand down on the harsh concrete beneath her.
After the discussion everyone had in the living room that night, Lainey went to bed wondering what on earth the Raft actually was. It had to've been a bad place for people to be threatened with it on behalf of the Accords.
So she looked it up.
The Raft was a high security prison in the middle of the ocean, made for people like her and Wanda. People that went in there, were never seen or heard from again.
That wasn't a place she was going. Not on her watch.
"Alayna Romanoff, what do you know about the Raft?" Steve lifted her up and set her down on her own two feet. He was nearly at the end of his tether with the child and he really did feel bad. It wasn't her fault, not really. This whole situation had him on edge.
"I know more than you think I know!" She crossed her arms. "I read the Accords, too, and I'm not going! You can't make me!"
"No one is sending you there, Lainey." He furrowed his eyebrows. "Stop it."
"Kiddo, I think you should listen to Uncle Steve." Bucky tried to help his friend without overstepping.
"Mama signed the Accords! I'm not going!"
What about this were they not getting? She wasn't leaving!
"Alayna—"
Lainey burst into an angry set of tears, wiggling her fingers to revealing her blue tendrils. Maybe that would help them understand. "You can't make me g-go."
Steve, Sam, and Bucky looked on in shock before the former could snap himself out of it. He knelt down in front of Lainey in an attempt to calm her down and took her hand in his own.
"How long have you had this?" He asked gently.
"Since the w-warehouse." She sniffled. "It happened w-when I was sleeping." She remembered waking up groggy and looking over only to find the empty syringes.
"Who else knows?"
"W-Wanda knows. She was helping m-me."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Steve choked up at the thought of how scared she must've been when she first found out about this. How she had spent all those weeks in her room, suffering all by herself.
"D-Didn't want anyone to not w-want me a-anymore."
"Us wanting you is never going to change, Honey. But if you're going through something, we need to know. We can't help you if we don't know what's going on, alright?" He gently brought her hand up to his face and pressed a gentle kiss onto the back of it.
"That's what W-Wanda said."
"She was right." He opened his arms. "Come here."
Things just got a little more complicated.
"Is she asleep?" Steve asked, glancing at the rearview mirror.
"She's out." Bucky looked down at his daughter, who was leaning up against his side, fast asleep right along with Mischief, who rested in her lap. "Both of them are."
Lainey looked so cute, all curled up into him, breathing evenly. He wondered how long it's been since she slept properly, because all the bumps and jolts this car was experiencing should have been enough to wake a hibernating bear.
He froze a little when she stirred and remained completely still, hoping that she'd be able to fall back into her deep sleep.
And lucky for him, she did.
"Good." The blonde parked the car once they entered an empty lot. "I called Nat and told her she's safe."
"I know she's worried." Sam mused. "What'd you tell her to keep her from heading our way?"
"I asked her to trust me." He shrugged. "Lainey will tell her in her own time. But for now, I can't betray that trust."
"Makes sense." Sam agreed. "Is that Sharon?" He hadn't expected to see the blonde here at all.
"Right on time." Steve grinned, getting out of the car to meet the woman in question.
"Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car." She eyed the old VW Bug Steve decided to use.
"It's low profile."
"Good, because this stuff tends to draw a crowd." She opened up the trunk of her car, revealing his shield and Sam's gear.
It must've been tough stealing those back from government hands. He owed her a lot of gratitude here. She was really putting herself on the line for him. Again.
"You're supposed to be asleep, Lainey." Sam looked back at the eleven year old as she stretched her limbs.
It looked like her catnap was over. Now she wanted to be involved in what was happening.
"I'm not tired." She shrugged, trying to crawl into the driver's seat.
But Sam, without even having to think, stuck an arm out to stop her and Bucky grabbed one of the belt loops of her jeans and pulled her back down to sit, forcing her to plop right back down with a huff of surprise.
"Engine's still running." The raven-haired man said simply, catching the look of shock on her face. "Sit."
She couldn't believe he did that and it looked like he'd have no issues doing it again! He was taking this father stuff very seriously.
Lainey wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news for her. She was still trying to get a read on him. Would he let her get away with stuff, or would he be just like Natasha?
Only time would tell.
"But I see Sharon." She pouted.
"I know you see Sharon, but you have to stay where you are." Sam told her.
Lainey scowled for a second before Mischief woke up and distracted her, trying to get her to play.
"Can you move your seat up?"
"No."
Lainey giggled at their childishness and shook her head. "If you kick the back of his seat, he'll do it."
"Alayna." Sam warned.
The little girl just gave him a sweet look and went back to watching Steve and Sharon outside.
"I owe you again."
"Keeping a list." Sharon joked. "You know, that guy tried to kill me."
"Sorry. I'll put that on the list, too." Steve smiled very apologetically. "They're gonna come looking for you."
"I know." She didn't care. She was doing what was right. That's all that mattered.
"Thank you, Sharon." He took a deep breath before leaning in to kiss her.
"That was—"
"—Late."
"You're right."
"I should go…"
"Lainey, keep that cat away from me." Sam groaned as Mischief crawled all over him. "This is ridiculous."
"She likes you, Uncle Sam." Lainey smiled cheekily, leaning forward to take the kitten from him. "It's not her fault. She's just trying to be nice."
"I've got cat fur all over me." He tried dusting himself off, but it wasn't really helping anything. "I can't believe Natasha actually agreed to let you bring her home."
"Neither can I." Steve threw in his two-cents. "She doesn't strike me as an animal person."
"She is, too, an animal person." Lainey stuck her chin up in the air before a yawn escaped her throat. "She likes cats."
"I think she's whipped." Sam chuckled.
"Don't let her hear you say that."
"What's 'whipped'?" Lainey asked.
"Now look what you've done." Bucky teased. "You wanna take this one?"
"It just means that your mama loves you so much, that she'd do anything for you." Steve clarified.
Which was technically true, he just hoped Lainey would take that for an answer. That kid was insanely sharp and sometimes these explanations didn't work.
"Then why's Uncle Sam laughing?"
"Because he's immature."
"Oh."
"Why don't you tell Bucky about your monkey?" He quickly changed the subject.
"Don't tell me this kid has a pet monkey, Steve."
"I don't have a pet monkey!" Lainey giggled. "I have George!"
"You have, what?" Bucky furrowed his eyebrows.
"Stuffed animal." Steve mouthed to him through the rearview.
Now that made sense.
"Mama gave him to me. He goes everywhere with me…except school. Mama said I can't take him there because I might lose him."
Speaking of George, Lainey didn't actually know exactly where he was. She might've left him down in the cafeteria in Vienna, or he could still be on the quinjet. She hoped she hadn't lost him. She'd be devastated if she never saw him again.
Her mama had picked him out just for her. He was special.
"I'm sure he feels more comfortable at home." Bucky played along. "Your aunt had a monkey when she was a kid. Its name was Henry."
"I remember Henry." Steve smiled at the memory, pulling the car into an empty parking space beside a white van. "Becky lugged that thing everywhere." He chuckled and as much as he would've loved to stay and reminisce, they were on borrowed time and had to move. "Let's go."
"Do I have to stay in the car?"
"No, you don't have to stay in the car, but you do have to stay close by." He shut the engine off, pulling the key out of the ignition.
"Yay!" Lainey crawled out once everyone got out. She smiled when she saw Clint, but lit all the way up when her eyes met Wanda's. "Wanda!" She squealed, jumping at her, barely giving her time to react.
"Hi." Wanda held her close and snuggled into her. "I missed your little footsteps running around. Who's this you've got here?"
"She's mine. She found me in Vienna." Lainey held the cat with one hand, while resting on Wanda's hip. "Isn't she cute?"
"She's very cute." Wanda smiled. "What's her name?"
"Mischief."
"Very reflective of her owner."
"Hey!"
Wanda just laughed and watched as she interacted with Clint, who was giving the girl a look of reproach. "I think he's feeling a little left out, Mышка."
"Hi." Lainey leaned over and reached out for him, prompting him to take her into his arms for a hug. "I missed you."
"Mhm." He pretended to be annoyed before smiling. "Are you staying out of trouble?"
"Uh uh." She shook her head honestly, making him laugh. "Trouble always finds me, remember?"
"Get out of here, you little booger." He set her down, allowing her to run back to Bucky. And he watched as the girl lifted her arms, silently asking Bucky to lift her up to which he obliged.
He was glad the two were getting along. They both deserved it and they needed one another.
"Cap." He turned his attention to the former soldier.
"You know I wouldn't have called if I had any other choice."
"Hey, man, you're doing me a favor." He shrugged. "Besides, I owe a debt."
"Thanks for having my back."
"It was time for me to put in the work." Wanda smiled.
"How about our other recruit?"
"He's rarin' to go." Clint opened the van door, revealing a sleeping man. "Had to put a little coffee in him, but he should be good."
It was Scott Lang. Lainey had seen him on the news.
Watching him sleep, she suddenly felt a little homesick for her bed. She wanted everything to go back to normal so she could cuddle in bed with her mama.
Most importantly, she just wanted her mama. She missed her.
"Come on." Clint spoke to the man, who had been startled awake, ushering him out into the open. "Come on."
"Captain America!" Scott gushed once all his senses returned to him.
"Mr. Lang." Steve shook his hand.
"It's an honor…..I'm shaking your hand too long. Wow! This is awesome!"
"He's funny." Lainey's fingers found a way into her mouth.
Bucky took notice and gently pulled her hand away only for her to do it again, giving him a very unimpressed look. "Your hands are dirty, Doll." He pulled it away again, this time, holding it in his own. He had enough trouble breaking that habit once, he really hoped he wouldn't have to do it again.
"Captain America." Scott continued to fanboy, looking at Wanda. "Hey, I know you, too, you're great!"
"I like him." Lainey tried to put her fingers in her mouth again, but stopped when Bucky dug his fingers into her side to distract her.
Her giggles were like a stress reliever for everyone who heard them.
"Cute kid. Look, I wanna say, I know you know a lot of super people, so…..thinks for thanking of me."
Well, that didn't come out right.
"Hey, man." He waved at Sam.
"What up, TicTac?"
"Uh, good to see you. Look, about what happened last time when I….."
"It was a great audition, but it'll never happen again."
"It was really funny." Lainey smirked. "Mama and I watched it together."
She totally remembered Scott now. He tried breaking into the Compound last summer, so Sam took it upon himself to stop him. Sam didn't win that fight. Lainey and Natasha had the video evidence to prove it.
"Alayna, be quiet." Sam huffed.
"That's not nice, Uncle Sam." She scolded, frowning at him. "Mama's gonna get mad at you for being mean."
"Did they tell you what we're up against?" Steve was really struggling to keep the look of amusement off his face.
"Something about psycho assassins." Scott understood his battle, he had a daughter at home. Little kids could be hilarious when they wanted to be.
"We're outside the law on this one. So if you come with us, you're a wanted man."
"Yeah, well….what else is new?"
"We should get moving." Bucky set Lainey down, ignoring her little whine of protest. He was so comfy. How dare he put her down when she wasn't ready to walk!
"We've got a chopper lined up." Clint told them before a voice on the intercom interrupted their conversation.
Lainey couldn't really make out what was being said. She knew a bit of German, but she didn't know those words, but it looked like her father did.
"They're evacuating the airport."
"Stark."
"Stark?" Scott questioned. What did Stark have to do with this?
"Suit up."
Lainey did not appreciate how quickly she had been benched from this whole thing. It wasn't fair. Steve said she had to stay far away from the tarmac and everyone just…..agreed.
This was her fight, too. She didn't want to fight anybody, but she wanted to be included. She wasn't a baby anymore. She could totally do this.
"C'mon, Mischief." She set her kitten down on the ground and tiptoed around, letting her follow.
Mischief was just as stealthy as she was, so there was no issue in getting around undetected.
She finally found a place where she was close enough to hear what was being said without being seen and knelt down to listen.
She missed the first half of the conversation, so she'd need to fill in the blanks, but it wasn't looking good.
The whole team was split right down the middle with everyone taking sides. Tony, Natasha, Rhodey, and Vision were on one side, while Wanda, Steve, Sam, and Clint were on the other.
"Meow." Mischief licked her own paw, making Lainey turn to her.
"Ssh." She put a finger to her lips. "You'll get me in big trouble."
"Alright, I've run out of patience." She heard Tony say. "Underoos!"
Lainey was very surprised to see Spider-Man stealing Steve's shield. She thought that his thing was protecting the neighborhood. He didn't strike her as the type to venture out of the country for this kind of issue.
"Nice job, kid."
"Thanks." Her jaw dropped when she heard his voice. "I could have stuck the landing a little better, it's just…..new suit— it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect. Thank you."
She knew that voice anywhere. That was Peter! Peter was Spider-Man!
But what was he doing here? Why had Tony recruited him for this? She thought that Peter's views on things would perfectly align with Steve's. And the man had always been someone he looked up to. So what did Tony tell him to get him to fight on his side?
And how did they get Aunt May to agree to this?
It wasn't fair that Natasha wouldn't let her fight, but didn't have a problem with letting Peter do it. He wasn't that much older than she was.
Unless of course, she didn't know much about him.
"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation."
"Okay." Peter awkwardly saluted. "Cap…..Captain. Big fan…I'm Spider-Man."
"Yeah, we'll talk about it later."
"Hey, everyone."
"Good job."
"You've been busy." Steve made an observation.
"And you've been a complete idiot; dragging in Clint, 'rescuing' Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave, a safe place." Tony snapped. "I'm trying to keep— I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."
"You did that when you signed."
"Alright, we're done." Tony's eyes darkened considerably. "You're gonna turn Barnes over, you're gonna come with us, now, because it's us, not a squad of J-SOC guys with no compunction about being impolite."
Steve still wouldn't budge and Lainey really admired him for it. It was hard to stand up for what you believed in when there were so many people opposing you. He did it back in D.C. and he was doing it now. She hoped that one day she could be as brave as he was being right now.
To her surprise, Peter was flipped over onto his back and Steve's shield was handed back to him in a matter of seconds. If she even blinked, she'd miss it.
She knew the fight was starting right now, so she stood up and ran as fast as she could to the terminal. She figured that that was where Peter was headed and she wanted to cut him off right before he got there, if she could get there in time.
If not, she'd find a way to stall him.
Just as she suspected, Peter flew through the glass window and rammed right into Sam, knocking him over.
Bucky ran interference for his teammate and went after the spider boy, swinging with his left fist. His eyes widened in disbelief when Peter caught it with little to no effort.
"You have a metal arm?" Peter marveled. "That's awesome, dude!"
And just when he was distracted, Lainey tackled him away from Bucky, sending herself and him tumbling onto the ground.
The two rolled a several feet away from the two adults and finally stopped when they hit a pole.
"Lainey?" Peter temporarily forgot about his secret identity. "What's going on? What is this?"
"Peter, I can explain." She put her hands up, being the one on top of him. He made sure to take the brunt of the fall, not wanting her to get injured. "It's a long story, just let me explain."
"No way!" Even with the mask on, Lainey could tell he was beyond angry with her. "Are you kidding? What're you doing with the Avengers? What happened to your mother? Does she even know about this?"
"I don't know where my mother is." Lainey tried to keep him from exploding at her. "I'm with the Avengers because she's been up to no good and I—"
"So you've been lying to me?" He scoffed. "All this time you've been lying?"
"I didn't mean to! Peter, please—"
"No!" He shot up, sending her toppling off of him. "Why didn't you tell me the truth, Lainey?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were Spider-Man?" Lainey deflected.
She didn't like it when he got upset with her. He never got upset with her. This literally has never happened before and Lainey didn't know what to do with herself. She never meant to lie to him. She didn't even think that she was lying. A lot has happened in the past few years and she just didn't think to tell him about it.
She didn't know if she could.
"That's not the same thing and you know it. I don't tell people my identity to keep them safe. You kept this a secret and lied to make it easier on yourself. All this time I've spent worrying about you and showing up to your empty apartment, and you've been safe, with the Avengers."
"I'm sorry." Lainey bit her lip. "You have to believe me, please?"
"I don't know what to believe. But I do know that I have a job to do today and Mr. Stark is counting on me to do it."
"Peter, wait." Lainey scrambled up onto her feet and grabbed his arm in both her hands. "I lied to you, I know. I was wrong. I'm sorry. But you don't know everything!"
"Mr. Stark told me everything I need to know." Peter shook his head. "Cap is wrong and he thinks he's right. That means he's dangerous. And anyone who agrees with him is dangerous, too."
"Peter, you don't know what you're fighting for." Lainey tried again. "Uncle Tony is using you to get what he wants. Listen to me!"
"Uncle Tony, huh?." That was just another blow. "Why would he lie to me? Captain America is a criminal. He's trying to keep the Winter Soldier from justice. I have to do what's right. I'm sorry."
"Then do what's right, Peter. Let him go." How had she managed to screw everything up so badly? Could they ever come back from this?
Did he hate her now? Was this the end of their friendship?
"Let him go?" Peter scoffed. "He's a murderer!"
"No, he isn't!" Lainey insisted, but she knew there wouldn't be any way to convince him. She lost his trust and somehow, with little effort on his part, Tony gained it. "It wasn't him!"
"Lainey, what's wrong with you? Why are you defending this guy? You don't even know him."
"He's my father." Lainey delivered the final blow to their friendship.
"Unbelievable." He threw his head back and tried to leave, but she wouldn't let him. "I'm not gonna fight you, Lainey. I'm upset with you, but I'm not gonna fight you. You need to get out of my way."
"Peter, I'm telling you the truth." Lainey put a hand on his chest to stop him from going anywhere. "You know I'm telling the truth. You're just upset right now."
"Out of my way, Lainey."
"Petey..."
Peter slowed a bit, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. Mr. Stark brought him here to do a job and nothing was going to stop him from doing it.
Not even Lainey.
"I'm sorry, Lainey." He muttered and pushed past her, ignoring the look of hurt on her face.
Or at least, he tried to. As mad as he was, he didn't want to leave her on bad terms. He was sure there had been issues that Lainey had to deal with, but the fact that she had cut herself off from him when they were both struggling and needed each other the most, just rubbed him the wrong way.
It wasn't an entirely her fault and that probably wasn't even why he was truly angry.
Things were just...complicated and it didn't help that he was confused.
While he was distracted, Sam flew over and scooped him up into the air, taking him away.
"I thought I told you to stay away from this mess?" Bucky jogged over to Lainey.
"Sorry." She shrugged, not at all remorseful. She needed to speak to Peter and she knew she only had a small window to do it.
"I don't want you getting hurt over this." His voice was tight, but his features were soft. "This isn't your fight. You have to go. Please."
There wasn't much else she could do. She was only eleven. If everything was going to fall apart, she had no choice but to let it. This wasn't up to her. He was right, this wasn't her fight.
"Okay." She nodded, scooping up her kitten and running out of the terminal.
Change was inevitable. It was coming whether she wanted it to or not.
She glanced out onto the tarmac and her jaw dropped. There they were, the Avengers, fighting.
She'd never in a million years think that anything like this would happen to them. They weren't the very best of friends, but Lainey thought that there was a mutual understanding: No fighting each other.
It looked like she was wrong.
She inhaled deeply, sneaking her way to where the quinjet was being kept; since the chopper was out of commission, this was probably where they'd end up to try and get away.
She didn't account for her mother thinking the very same thing.
Not until she was standing right in front of her with her arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed.
Wow. Lainey never knew Natasha was physically capable of looking at her like that! She was her sweet girl! She wasn't supposed to look at her like that!
"Mama….."
"No, no, no. I don't want to hear it." The redhead growled, towering over her. "I want explanations."
Natasha wasn't the tallest woman in the world, but right now, Lainey felt like she was a giant.
"Well…..I…..Mama, I have to." She couldn't even form a coherent sentence under all this scrutiny.
"Oh?" The Russian's features grew ridiculously scary. "You have to? Tell me, Alayna. Why do you 'have to'? Hm?"
"I….."
"Yes?"
There was no use hiding it anymore. It was in her best interest to show her mother exactly what had gotten her into this mess.
It was imperative that she told the truth now.
"Oh my— Alayna." Natasha's jaw dropped when she saw the little girl's blue tendrils, all her anger forgotten in an instant, which told Lainey she had made the right call. "When did this happen?"
"After the warehouse, Mama."
And now it was all making sense. The reason Lainey was upset about the Accords, the clinginess, the fear. It all came right back to this. She had powers now.
She had powers now, and Natasha had signed the Accords. A document that was going to drastically affect her and Wanda. What was she thinking? Who cared about the public's trust? Her daughter's trust mattered a whole lot more to her and she had broken it.
She signed the Accords and that made Lainey feel like she couldn't come to her. She wasn't playing Ross' game anymore. If everyone else wanted to be his puppets, then that was on them. Natasha wasn't having it. It wasn't worth it anymore.
"Wanda was the only one who knew…she helped me. But I had to show Uncle Steve, Uncle Sam, and Papa."
"Papa?" Natasha questioned. "He told you?"
And the hits just kept on coming.
"You knew, Mama?" Lainey felt as if she had been the last to know. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you getting hurt."
Of course Natasha knew. She just thought it would do more harm than good to tell her. When she herself found out, Bucky was still being used by Hydra. How awful would she be to get this beautiful little girl's hopes up? The little girl that despite everything she's been through, was a little ray of sunshine. How could she tell her that her father was out there and she couldn't meet him because, one, he probably didn't remember her, and two, he was being controlled by a highly lethal criminal organization and was forced to do horrible things he didn't want to do? How could she look her child, the person she loved most in the world, in the eyes and tell her that her father was the man who was there on that highway back in DC?
She couldn't do it. She couldn't watch her little angel face light up with the idea of getting to know her father, only to be filled with disappointment after finding out the truth.
She didn't care if it was selfish on her part, she couldn't hurt Lainey like that.
But it wasn't her secret to keep. She should've told her the truth. Wondering was much worse than knowing the truth, Natasha knew that better than anyone.
"He wouldn't hurt me."
"Of course not." Natasha agreed. "But I wanted to protect you just in case you two never met. I didn't want you to have to wait and want for him if he was never going to come around. But that was wrong. You had every right to know. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Mama. I'm not mad." Lainey accepted the apology. She knew Natasha would never do anything to harm her. If she thought that she had been protecting her, then that was good enough for her. "I forgive you."
"Thank you, Sweet Girl." Natasha smiled. She had gotten very lucky with Lainey.
"Mama?"
"Yes?"
"Do you still want me?" Lainey bit back tears. "Even if I'm different now?"
"You're still my Lainey." Natasha pulled her in for a hug. "Nothing will ever change that."
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."
"Oh, I know." She laughed. "We can talk about that later."
"I'm in trouble, huh?"
"I'd say so." She tapped her daughter's nose. "I love you."
Lainey's shriek interrupted their conversation before she could even answer, as a plethora of debris began to drop and barricade the entrance just after Steve and Bucky made their way in.
"You're not gonna stop." Natasha cradled Lainey's head while the girl clung to her.
"You know I can't." Steve was hurt that it even had to come to this, but he was doing what he needed to do.
"I'm gonna regret this." Natasha sighed, holding her arm up to point her widow's bite at them.
Or at least, what they thought was at them.
She was really aiming for T'Challa, who crawled in behind them without them noticing.
"Go." She said, shooting one at him to stall for time. "And take Lainey with you."
"Huh?" Lainey looked at her like she grew two heads.
"I don't have time to debate this with you. I just told you to do something, so do it."
If Lainey stayed, she didn't know if she could protect her from being arrested and thrown into the Raft. This situation wasn't ideal, but at least with Steve and Bucky, she'd be safer.
She hated this feeling of not being able to shield her child from everything that was out there to get her.
Lainey's lip quivered at the thought of leaving her mother behind, but she stepped away from her all the same. "What about you?"
"I'll come get you as soon as I can." Natasha calmed her nerves. "Take care of our kid, Barnes."
"You know that I will." Bucky took the girl's hand, pulling her closer to him before swinging her up onto his hip. "Thank you."
"Mama?" Lainey looked at her with wide eyes. "I love you."
"I love you, too. Now go."